What if Red Sky at Morning
by Katy M VT
Summary: What if Gert was Sarah in disguise?  Sequel to What if Provenance.  Spoilers for Season 4, but very AU.  Chapter 9 of 9 up
1. Date Night

What if Gert was Sarah in disguise?

Sam headed over to Gert's to pick her up for the thing at the Ocean Museum or whatever it was. He couldn't believe he had let Dean and Bela talk him into this. She was seriously creepy. He mentally kicked himself. She was just a lonely old woman. It wouldn't hurt him to keep her company for a night. Dean and Bela had the Impala so he had to walk over to Gert's and she would drive them to the event. He got to her house and rang the door bell.

"Come in," Gert said, when she answered the door.

"We should probably get going," Sam said, figuring the sooner they left, the sooner the evening would be over.

"Just come in for a quick minute and have a drink while I look for my sweater. It's getting chilly out," Gert insisted.

"OK," Sam agreed, thinking a drink would definitely make the whole situation more palatable.

She fixed him a drink and then headed upstairs in search of her sweater. She was back in less than a minute. Just enough time for Sam to chug his drink.

"Do you want me to drive?" Sam asked as they went out to the car.

"No, that won't be necessary," Gert answered as Sam opened the driver's side door. Gert slipped past him and sat down. Sam was glad she didn't want him to drive. All of the sudden, he was feeling a little woozy.

He got into the passenger seat and stared at her in shock. "Sarah!" he said.

"That's right," Sarah answered. "Good night, Sam."

Sam went to open the door so he could get out, but he passed out before his hand fully closed around the handle.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Dean and Bela went back downstairs after successfully stealing the hand of glory. "I still don't see Sam," Dean muttered.

"We can't wait around for him. We don't want to get caught," Bela said softly.

"Fine. Let's go to the cemetery and burn this sucker," Dean said.

"It's not really a two person job is it?" Bela asked. "Hanging out in the cemetery isn't my idea of a good time."

"That's OK. I don't really want to hang out with you anywhere, anyway. I hope I won't be seeing you around," Dean said.

"Likewise," Bela answered.

"How are you going to get home?" Dean asked. He couldn't stand Bela, but his father had taught him that you never left a woman stranded.

"Just drop me on your way," Bela said.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Sarah headed to New York. She wanted to get Sam back to her auction house. He was going to be sorry he ever messed with her. She looked over at his sleeping form. He should stay sleeping until they got there.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

After dropping Bela off, Dean headed to the cemetery. He went to pull the hand out of his jacket pocket and ended up retrieving a ship in a bottle instead. Rolling his eyes, he headed back to Bela's hotel. Her car was gone and she had checked out. He pulled out his phone and dialed Sam's number.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Sarah heard ringing coming from Sam's pocket. "Forgot about that," she muttered. She pulled the phone out and threw it out the window as she sped along to their destination.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Dean left a few messages for Sam and then headed over to Gert's. "Hello?" he called as he entered after nobody answered. He looked around downstairs and didn't find anyone. He headed upstairs and thought he smelled something. He followed the smell to a closed door. He pushed the door open and saw Gert's dead body on the bed. She looked (and smelled) as if she had been dead for days.

"SAM!" Dean shouted.

He searched the rest of the house from top to bottom, but found nothing to tell him what was going on. He figured it was probably a shapeshifter, but what did it want with Sam?

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Sarah called to her father to help her when she pulled into the parking spot behind the auction house. "Where have you been?" he asked.

"Getting my lover," she answered. "We're going to be together forever."

"I never liked him," her father stated as he looked in the car and saw Sam.

"I know, Daddy, but I do. Help me get him inside."

Between the two of them they managed to carry Sam inside. They put him on the service elevator and took him down to the basement. "Now leave us alone," Sarah requested.

"OK," her father sighed. Sarah always got so wrapped up in these obsessions of hers.

Sarah whispered an incantation into Sam's ear and then set to work on the preparations. She removed Sam's jacket and then his tie. She slowly took off his shirt and then unzipped his pants. She pulled them off along with his underwear. When he was naked, she rolled him over onto his back and tied his hands behind him. She then blindfolded him and gagged him. She would call this piece "Bondage."

Sam began to wake up. "Perfect timing, sweetie," Sarah said.

Sam tried to speak, but couldn't because of the gag. Sarah could read his mind however. "We're home," she said, answering his question of where were they. "Can you stand up for me, sweetie?" Sarah asked.

Sam didn't want to do anything Sarah told him to, but standing up was probably the best way of escaping so he did. As soon as he was standing, Sarah said, "Statue," and Sam turned into a marble statue. She was pleased with the result. He had stood and then spread his legs slightly apart to gain balance. He really looked like a Greek god.


	2. Searching for Sam

"OK, Sam, here's the deal. I've spent the last two years studying and improving my technique. I don't need potions anymore. I do it all with words. And holy water won't save you this time. The only thing that can release you from the statue is my verbal command. If I die while you are in this state or flesh, you will be a statue forever. There are more rules, but we'll discuss them later," Sarah said.

"What do you want?" Sam screamed inside his head. He remembered from last time that she could read his mind.

"I want you, darling," Sarah said and ran her hand over his marble chest.

Sam could feel it. He also realized he was naked and was a bit embarrassed by that fact.

"I've blindfolded you, so you won't be able to see anything until I come back," Sarah said and started to leave.

Sam could hear her retreating foot steps. "When are you coming back?" he asked in spite of himself.

"I know about your brother's deal. I feel like it's probably best to keep you under wraps until it's due. I'll be back in six months," Sarah said.

"Wait!" Sam yelled. He didn't want to be trapped, alone and frozen for six months.

"It's OK, Sam. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. I'll love you all the more when I come back for you," Sarah said, and with that she stepped onto the elevator, leaving Sam alone, cold and in a state of utter panic. He wouldn't be able to break Dean's deal if he was trapped as a statue. He didn't even know where he was.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Dean looked all around that town for Sam and couldn't find a trace of him. He called Bobby for help. "Sam's missing. I think a shapeshifter got him."

"How do you boys get into these troubles?" Bobby asked, rolling his eyes. "Where are you?"

"Massachusetts," Dean answered.

"I'm on my way," Bobby said.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Sam heard footsteps and voices. "Look, Sarah screwed us over, so we'll just steal some stuff from her and we'll be even."

"I'd love to steal that statue," Sam heard and then felt hands along his legs and chest.

"Leave me alone!" he yelled inside his head.

"That would be a little difficult don't you think?"

"Help me!" Sam pleaded.

He heard more scuffling. It sounded like crates were being opened and rummaged through. "OK, I think this will pay for what Sarah owes us."

Sam heard the footsteps retreating and was alone again.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"I got an idea," Bobby said as soon as he walked into Dean's hotel room.

"What?" Dean asked. He was open to anything that would help them find Sam.

"Let's find that Ruby demon that Sam's friends with. She can probably track him down," Bobby suggested.

"I don't know, Bobby. Teaming up with a demon? Doesn't sound smart," Dean reasoned.

"Probably not, but you've been looking for a week now and you have nothing," Bobby pointed out.

"OK. Let's do it," Dean decided.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Sam felt water start to drip on him. There must be a pipe leaking above me, he thought. The water drops felt cold and sharp as they dripped onto his shoulder and bounced off. One after another after another.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Bobby got out a map and some other tools and started a ritual to find Ruby. She's in the next town over," Bobby said. "On Elm Street."

"Let's go," Dean said.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"Sam got turned into a statue by a witch, Lillith," Ruby told her. "Should I rescue him?"

Dean and Bobby crept up to the house to investigate before they went into speak with Ruby. They heard a voice and paused to listen.

"No, we should leave Sam right where he is until his brother's deal comes due," Lillith answered.

"The demons have Sam?" Dean asked Bobby.

"Looks like," Bobby whispered back.

Dean pulled out the Colt and stormed into the room. He pointed it at one of the demons, "Tell me what you've done with my brother, you bitch," Dean ordered.

"I haven't done anything with him," Ruby protested.

Dean pulled the trigger. "Dean, what are you doing? You just killed Ruby and our best chance of finding Sam," Bobby said.

"We've got one more," Dean said as he swung the Colt towards the other demon.

Lillith opened her mouth and smoked out of her body and away from Dean's wrath.

"Great," Bobby said. "We don't even know that one's name. We'll never find her."

"There's other demons," Dean said. "One of them will know where to find Sam."

Dean searched Ruby and found her special knife that Sam had told him about and Dean and Bobby set out to catch some demons and make them talk.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

3 Months Later

Sam hadn't heard anything since Sarah was robbed. It had been a long time. He didn't know how long. It could have been a month, a year, or even a decade for all he knew. He heard the elevator descend and open.

"Help me!" Sam yelled in his mind.

Sarah smiled. She had no intention of communicating with Sam. She only came down here because she needed to put back the stolen items she had recovered. Maybe she would listen to Sam's thoughts for a while, though. See how desperate he was getting.

"Who's here?" Sam asked.

Sarah went over and punched the elevator button so that Sam would think she had left and then quietly sat down.

"Don't go!" Sam screamed.

"I wonder how long it's been? Is Dean still alive?" Sam thought

When Sarah heard that she knew that her decision to keep Sam in statue form until Dean was dead was the right one.

"I can't take it anymore," Sam thought to himself. He was stiff and cold and that pipe was still leaking. He had counted drips for a while. He lost count at 673,451.

Sarah almost laughed aloud at that. She looked up to see the pipe dripping and smiled. She wished she had thought to do that on purpose.


	3. Deal

"Dean, we've shot demons with the Colt, exorcised them, tortured them with that knife and haven't found out jack squat. Either the demons don't know anything, or nothing is going to make them talk," Bobby said in frustration.

"So, what do you want to do, Bobby? Give up?" Dean asked.

"You've got three months until your deal is due. We should be working on trying to break that," Bobby said.

"If I try to break it, Sam will die," Dean argued.

"Son, I hate to say it, but I think Sam is probably already dead," Bobby said as gently as he could. "Nobody stays in the company of demons for three months and lives to talk about it.

Dean just stared at Bobby and stormed out. If Bobby wouldn't help him, he would do this on his own.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

3 Months Later

Sarah went down to see Sam. "Sam, your brother's deal comes due today. That's good news. I can free you from this marble," she said as she stroked Sam's chest.

More than anything, Sam wanted to pull away, but he couldn't move. He settled for saying, "I hate you."

"Sam, you better change that attitude by tomorrow, or you'll regret it," Sarah said and left.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you, Dean," Sam thought and remembered all the times Dean had saved him. He had truly let him down.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Dean had spent the last three months hunting down demons to get info on Sam. None of them knew anything. He only had one minute before his deal came due and his only regret in life was not finding Sam. He wondered if maybe at least they would tell him what they had done with him once he was in Hell. He heard growling. He looked over and saw the biggest, nastiest dog he had ever seen.

"You must be a Hell Hound," Dean stated the obvious.

The dog leapt on Dean and tore him to shreds. He felt pain and then for a moment nothing. He opened his eyes and found himself strapped to a rack. The rack itself was burning his skin and he could feel fire all around him. "Help!" he yelled. "Somebody please help me!"

"Nobody's going to help you, boy," said a demon who appeared right before him.

"Who are you?" Dean asked.

"My name is Alistair and I think we're going to be very good friends." With that he pulled out a knife and started carving and smiled at Dean's screams.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Sarah came down to the basement. "Well, it's official. I heard that Dean was torn to shreds last night."

"No," Sam protested.

"Flesh," Sarah said and Sam lost his statue form. He was so stiff from holding the same position for six months that he crumpled to the floor.

"OK, now there are rules you're going to have to obey if you're not going to be a statue," Sarah said.

"Like what?" Sam asked. He didn't care, he was just stalling for time to get his legs under him so he could take her out.

"First of all, it would be good if you could remember I can read minds. However, I won't hold anything against you until I read you all of the rules," Sarah said as she removed his gag and blindfold.

"How kind," Sam said sarcastically.

Sarah ignored him and began. "1. You do what I tell you to when I tell you. 2. You don't speak unless spoken to. 3. You call me sweetheart. 4. You love me and don't think bad thoughts about me. 5. You get a job and support me. 6. You never go more than five miles from me. The last one's important, because if you do, you'll automatically turn into a statue. Same thing if I die. Any questions?"

"Can you untie me and can I get some clothes?" Sam asked. He was trying very hard to keep his mind blank.

"You forgot to call me sweetheart," Sarah said in a sing-songy voice.

"Can you untie me and can I get some clothes," Sam was about to add the desired word, but couldn't help himself, "bitch."

"Statue," Sarah said, angrily.

Sam immediately turned to marble where he sat on the floor.

"I'll be back in ten years," Sarah said. "At least this time you can see." Sarah had taken off the blindfold and it would look silly to have the statue blindfolded with cloth. Not that it mattered. Nobody was going to see it.

"Wait," Sam begged.

"Too late. I hope you learn your lesson, at least." Sarah left. She would go find someone else to love for the next ten years and then she would return to her one true love.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Ten years later

"Dean, Dean, Dean. I make you this same offer and every day you turn me down," Alistair complained. "Oh, well, I'll try again. I will stop torturing you, if you will torture other souls."

Alistair did make him this offer every day and every day, Dean was sorely tempted. But, he couldn't do it. "No," he said.

"Fine, have it your way," Alistair said and began torturing Dean. He didn't understand these Winchesters. He had only gotten to work on John for about a year, but he could tell that John was near to cracking. That was better than average. But Dean had somehow managed to last a decade. Despite himself, he was impressed.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Sarah had spent the last ten years with an Italian man named Giuseppe. They had actually gone to live in Milan where he had family. He was now starting to get a little old, so Sarah was glad to be coming back to Sam. Sam wouldn't have aged at all as a statue.

"Sam, I'm back," Sarah called when she got to the basement.

"Thank God," Sam thought.

"I was hoping you would feel that way."

Sam had been close to going mad. He had been sitting here on the floor for ten years. He had moved when she freed him last time, so he was no longer under the dripping pipe, but he could still see and hear it. It was like Chinese Water Torture.

"Are you ready to abide by the rules?" Sarah asked.

"Yes, Sweetheart," Sam thought.

"Good boy," Sarah said and patted his head. "Flesh," she said and Sam slumped down even further. If he thought he was stiff the last time, it was nothing compared to this.

"Do you remember the rules?" Sarah asked.

"Yes, sweetheart," Sam said.

"Good, come give me a hug," Sarah said.

Sam achingly stood and slowly walked over to Sarah and hugged her. Sarah smiled and pulled out a knife and cut the ropes tying Sam's hands.

"Could I please get some clothes, sweetheart?" Sam asked. He was so cold.

"Statue," Sarah said.

Sam froze into a statue on the spot. "What did I do?" Sam asked in his head.

"You spoke without being spoken to. Really, Sam, I expect more of you than this. I'll be back in ten years."

"No, please," Sam begged.

"Bye, Sam. There is zero level tolerance for mistakes," and with that she left him once again.


	4. Reunions are Hell

Ten years later

"Dean, I brought you something," Alistair said.

Dean tried to look up from the rack. He figured it was probably just a new instrument of torture, so he wasn't really all that interested. He was surprised when he saw an older version of someone he once knew.

"Gordon?" Dean asked.

"He just died and ended up down here," Alistair said. "I thought maybe you might like to torture him. He was always after your brother, wasn't he?"

"No," Dean said.

"No, he wasn't always trying to kill Sam?" Alistair asked.

"No, I don't want to torture him," Dean clarified.

"Well, then I will let him torture you," Alistair decided. "Go ahead."

"Sorry, Dean. Never really did have anything against you, it was just Sam was evil. But it's torture or be tortured down here and I know what I'm making for my choice," Gordon said.

"I'll leave you two alone," Alistair said. "But know this, Gordon. If you don't do a good job of torturing him, I will find out and you will pay in an extra bad torture session."

"Understood," Gordon answered. As Alistair left, Gordon picked up a knife and started slicing into Dean. When Dean screamed, he momentarily backed off but then remembered Alistair's words and started in anew.

"Can I ask you something, Gordon?" Dean asked between cuts.

"Sure," Gordon said.

"You ever run into Sam again?"

"Nope. Makes me think maybe I was wrong about him. Never heard a peep from him or heard of him doing anything," Gordon admitted.

Dean wondered if he would ever know what had become of Sam.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Sarah had gone to Australia for ten years. She had met a farmer in the Outback, but that life hadn't really suited her, so she had moved to Sydney. She was returning to her Sam now, though.

"Sam, I'm back," she called as she headed down to the basement. "Are you glad I'm back?"

"Yes, sweetheart, I'm delighted," Sam said. He actually meant it, because it meant he would be able to move around and he would not make any of the stupid mistakes he made before.

"Flesh," Sarah said.

Sam just stood there not sure what he should do. The last thing he wanted to do was piss Sarah off. These last ten years had been horrible. The heat had broken in the building the winter before and it had taken two weeks to get a repairman out there. Sam had missed the ability to shiver. Sarah's father had actually come down and thrown a blanket over him, but after the heat was fixed had removed it, explaining that Sarah wouldn't like it if she knew he was giving Sam favors. After all, he was being punished.

"Hug me," Sarah said.

Sam went up and hugged her and was glad of her warmth. He knew better than to ask for clothes, but hoped she would provide them. Sarah could read his mind and said, "OK, Sam, you can have some clothes. What do you say?"

"Thank you, sweetheart," Sam said.

"Wait here while I get them. We can't have you traipsing through the auction house like that can we?"

Sam didn't say anything, didn't know he was supposed to.

"Statue. You're supposed to answer me when I ask you a question."

Sam would have cried if statues were capable of tears. "I thought it was rhetorical," he pleaded.

"You should know better," Sarah said and stormed out. Sam couldn't see the smile on her face. She was enjoying messing with him. It was taking a long time, but when the process was complete, he would be fully trained.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Ten Years Later

"Would you like to start torturing today?" Alistair asked, assuming the answer would once again be no. They were wasting their time with this one. It was never going to happen.

"Yes," Dean said, brokenly. He couldn't take it anymore. Alistair was alternating his days with Gordon and Gordon was actually more cruel than Alistair. After a few weeks, he had really gotten the hang of things and added psychological torture to the routine. He had become a demon himself a couple of years ago and used his demonic power to create holograms of Sam and made Dean watch while he sliced and diced Sam. The first few times, Dean didn't realize it was fake, but even after that, it was just so hard to watch his Sammy being hurt like that. He would torture others to get away from that.

"You know, we don't make this deal to everyone. There's a woman on the rack who would love to torture instead of being tortured, but for her that's not an option."

"Oh, yeah, why not?" Dean asked as Alistair released him from his bonds.

"Because, we usually only let the good people, the ones who don't want to torture, torture. It's a different kind of torture for them. If it's going to be fun for them, what's the point?" Alistair explained.

"What about Gordon, then? I would think he would fit into the category of wanting to torture," Dean wondered.

"Gordon was a special case just to get to you," Alistair said.

"What's so special about me?" Dean asked suspiciously.

Alistair was afraid he had said too much. "There's nothing special about you. You're just stubborn and it was annoying me. Nobody that we have made the offer to lasted more than a year."

Dean wanted to ask about his dad, but was afraid to. Plus, you could never trust a demon anyway, so the answer would be useless. Dean followed Alistair to his appointed torture chamber.

"Bela?" Dean asked surprised.

"Dean?" she said. "Are you here to rescue me?"


	5. Breaking Seals

"No, I'm here to torture you. Sorry." Dean was having second thoughts. Maybe he should just go back to the rack.

Alistair knew everything that Dean did about Sam's disappearance, so he decided to use that information to his advantage in order to make sure Dean didn't change his mind. "You do know that Bela is responsible for the demons getting their hands on Sam, right?"

"What?" Dean asked.

"What?" Bela said. "That's not true. I don't know what he's talking about."

"Please. You were in the procurement business. You hired a shapeshifter to take over the form of Gert and tricked Dean into a heist with you. You then stole the object to take up more of his time in order to give the shifter time to deliver Sam to the demons," Alistair improvised.

"Is that true, Bela?" Dean asked.

"No," she screamed.

"Think about it, Dean. It all fits."

"What happened to Sam after that?" Dean asked.

Alistair had no idea, but decided to act like he did. "If you do a good job of torturing her, I'll tell you at the end of the day."

Dean didn't need any further incentive. He had been tortured for the last thirty years and he wanted his turn, and it couldn't be torturing a more deserving person. The sounds of Bela's screams were like music to his ears all day long.

"I've heard you've done an excellent job," Alistair said when he returned.

"So, you'll tell me what happened to Sam." It was more of a statement than a question.

Alistair had been thinking of what he should tell Dean all day and decided this would hurt the most. "For the last thirty years, Sam has been kept in a basement by demons. He's tortured daily, almost to the point of death, but not quite. He's in his fifties and he hasn't known a day without pain for years and years and years. They plan on making sure he lives until his eighties."

Dean didn't want to give Alistair the satisfaction of a reaction, so he remained silent. "Well, you're back on the rack tomorrow," Alistair said, when Dean didn't say anything.

"What? I thought if I started torturing people I got to get off the rack," Dean complained.

"That's what I wanted you to think, but we just needed you to do it once. You were breaking a seal for us."

"A seal?" Dean asked.

"Yes. We need to break 666 seals to let Lucifer out of his cage. You spilling blood in Hell was the first seal. Now we can break all the rest. It's time for the Apocalypse."

Dean was horrified by what he had done. Worse than that he found himself back on the rack and he knew there would be no getting off again.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"The first seal has been broken, the first seal has been broken." Lillith was in a child's body and she was dancing around the living room, singing about the first seal. Her "parents" looked on. "That's nice dear." That's what they always said to their daughter the last few months. They were scared of her. They were surprised when a stream of black smoke erupted from her mouth and she collapsed in a heap on the floor.

"Mommy?" she said.

"What was that?" her mother asked.

"The mean lady inside me left."

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Sarah returned to Sam once more. "Flesh." Sam could move again. "Come hug me, Sam," Sarah said.

Sam walked up and hugged her. His mind was blank. He felt slightly insane after thirty years of virtually no company. "Did you miss me?" Sarah asked.

"Yes, very much, sweetheart," Sam said.

"Would you like me to get you some clothes?"

"Yes, please," Sam said and then quickly added, "sweetheart," before Sarah could get mad.

"I'll be right back," Sarah said and went out to the car to get the new clothes she had bought for Sam. "Here you are. You can put them on if you'd like," Sarah said when she came back.

"Thank you, sweetheart," Sam said and started getting dressed.

"I have a job lined up for you. You start in two weeks. I thought in the meantime we could take a trip together. Where would you like to go?" Sarah asked.

"Someplace warm would be nice, sweetheart," Sam answered.

"How about Hawaii?"

"That sounds good, sweetheart," Sam answered. He didn't really care where they went as long as it was out of this basement.

"I'll bet your stiff. Why don't you go for a walk, while I make the arrangements? Remember don't go more than five miles," Sarah warned.

"Yes, sweetheart," Sam said, exhilarated by the freedom. He was careful not to break any of the rules on the way upstairs.

Sam went outside and couldn't believe how different things were. He figured from all the "I'll be back in ten years" threats that it had been at least thirty years since he had seen the light of day. Dean was dead from his demon deal and he was pretty sure Bobby would be dead by now. There was nobody he could call for help. He was on his own. Stuck with Sarah until he died. He actually kind of hoped that happened soon. He did not want to ever be a statue again.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Lillith studied the list of seals she had to break before she got to the last one. "This is going to take forever," she lamented. "And I hate being in a grown up body."

"It would be hard to do all this as a child," one of her minions pointed out.

"Did I ask for your opinion?" Lillith raged.

"No," the demon cowered.

"Then keep it to yourself. The next seal is to sacrifice a hundred children under a full moon. This is perfect. Tomorrow is a full moon and tonight is Halloween."


	6. Honeymoon

Just as Lillith said this, the doorbell rang. "Trick or treat." She counted five kids. "Come in," she said.

"We're not supposed to come in," one of them protested.

"Come in," Lillith said again and used her power to drag them in. They tried to scream but Lillith cut off their air. She didn't need the other children outside knowing what was going on and avoiding her house. When she noticed one gasping for breath, she slammed the door behind them and released the hold on their air. She couldn't have them dying too soon. "Put them in the basement," she ordered the two other demons with her. Each demon scooped up two children and carried them down to the basement where there were 25 cages waiting. They placed all four children in one and then came up for the last one. She wanted to run, but Lillith was keeping her pinned. She was picked up by one of the demons and carried downstairs and placed in a separate cage.

"Scream all you want. The basement is soundproof."

They did just that. As more and more children were added to the cages throughout the night, the basement became a cacophony of terror.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"Sam, we need to hurry or we'll miss our flight," Sarah called.

"Yes, sweetheart" Sam said. Sarah had left him alone most of last night. He had a feeling that wouldn't last though.

Sam followed Sarah out to the car. He almost commented on the flying cars but quickly remembered not to speak unless spoken to. They rode to the airport in silence. Sam kept his mind as blank as he could. Sarah slept on the plane ride, so Sam didn't have to really worry about her then.

When they arrived in Hawaii, he found that she had booked the honeymoon suite. He was worried about what she had in mind. "Let's go the beach," she decided.

"OK, sweetheart," Sam said, relieved.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Lillith and her little helpers loaded all the cages into a big moving truck. They drove them to a cemetery on the outskirts of town. Lillith took the children out one by one and impaled them on sharp stakes that they had set out earlier. On the ones where she missed vital organs, the death was slow and painful, but they were all dead by dawn, effectively breaking the seal.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Sam and Sarah spent the two weeks in Hawaii without incident. Sarah was content to just hang out for now, and Sam was careful to exactly follow all of the rules. "You start at your new job tonight," Sarah announced at breakfast."

Sam knew better than to ask what it was. He was not allowed to ask questions, only answer them. He waited patiently. It didn't much matter as far as he was concerned.

"Your new boss will be joining us for lunch," Sarah said, still without telling him what the job was. "I want you to be on your best behavior."

"Yes, of course, sweetheart," Sam answered.

"Good, now do the dishes."

Sam quickly got up and started clearing the table. He did the dishes and then quickly returned to Sarah. He stood and waited for her to speak to him. "Make a soufflé for lunch," Sarah said.

Sam panicked. He didn't know how. Luckily, Sarah read that from his mind. "Fine, I'll send out for something. Why don't you go change into what I've laid out for you on the bed."

"Yes, sweetheart," Sam said and left the room. He was always glad to leave her presence. He was always so scared that he would break a rule. He walked into the bedroom and stopped short. There must be some sort of mistake, but how to correct it without being able to speak first, or return without having completed the task.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"Dean, the next seal has been broken. We're well on our way," Alistair said.

"Yeah, only 664 left to go," Dean noted.

Alistair was not amused and Dean soon regretted his sarcasm as that day's torture session was especially bad.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"Sam, what's taking so long?" Sarah asked.

"I'm confused because there are no clothes on the bed," Sam admitted.

Sarah stared at him and arched an eyebrow, waiting.

"Sweetheart," Sam quickly added.

"Right. Well, your job doesn't involve clothes, just this dog collar and hand cuffs. You're going to be a boy toy to a middle-aged millionaire," Sarah explained.

Before Sam could think or stop himself, he blurted out, "No, I'm not."

"Statue."

"Sarah, please. That's ridiculous," Sam said in his mind.

"It was just a test of your obedience. You failed. You're lucky I gave you your two weeks before I tested you." Sarah walked out the door. Now, she had the problem of a fully dressed statue in her bedroom.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Lillith put her whole effort into breaking seals, but some of them had to be performed at certain times of the year, and they all had to be performed in order. This was taking much longer than she thought. "Someone check on Sam Winchester. I need to make sure he's still around for the last seal."

At their first meeting, unbeknownst to Sam, Ruby had planted a tracking device in him. The demons could zap to him whenever they needed to. One of the demons did so now. He was back within minutes. "He's still a statue, but he's got his clothes on this time."

"That means he's been reanimated at some point," Lillith pointed out. "Does he look much aged?"

"Not at all, he can't have been not a statue for very much at all of these last 30 years."

"That's good. Continue to check on him periodically and let me know if anything changes."

"Yes, ma'am," one said.

Lillith continued her careful planning.


	7. Seal 665

Ten years later.

Lillith was preparing to break seal 665. It had been a long arduous road, but it would be well worth the wait. Seal 665 was to trick an angel into going into Hell. They didn't have to stay, just enter. How was she ever going to pull this one off?

"Do the angels know what the seals are?" one of the demons asked her. It would be pretty hard to trick an angel into descending into the pit, if they knew it was a seal.

"No, they have no idea what they are, but they know how many and they know when one breaks. So, they know there are only two left and I think it's safe to say they're pretty worried," Lillith answered.

"I think I know how to get an angel into the pit," one of them excitedly announced.

"How?" Lillith asked. She had no clue, so if someone else had a plan that was great.

"We leak a fake seal 665 so that the angels find out what it is."

"How will that help?" Lillith asked.

"Because our fake seal will be that the breaker of the first seal is officially turned into a demon. When the angels hear that, they'll bust into Hell to pull Dean Winchester out."

"Excellent idea," Lillith conceded. This could just work. "We'll have to be subtle, though. We've been careful up until now, none of our seals have been discovered ahead of time."

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Castiel was on earth for the first time in millennia. He was a bit homesick, but for the most part he liked humans. He hoped he was able to help stop the breaking of the last two seals. He was walking along when he saw two demons fighting. He thought about just going up to them and killing them, but decided it might behoove him to hear what they were fighting about.

The two demons had sensed the angel nearby and had started a fake fight, yelling loudly to attract his attention and make it seem reasonable that they didn't notice his presence. "I'm telling you, seal 665 will be broken by tomorrow."

"No way. It will take a week for the transformation," the other one argued.

Castiel realized they were talking about the next seal. It sounded like its breaking was imminent. It would definitely help to know what it was.

"Look, turning the first seal breaker into a demon will only take a matter of hours not days."

That was it, Castiel realized. Turning Dean Winchester into a demon was the next seal. If he could get him out of Hell then he could not be turned into a demon. He should probably check with his superiors but he didn't think there was time. Just a quick trip into Hell and back and the seal would be forever saved. He would whisk Dean up to Heaven where he would be forever safe from demons and he would probably get a promotion. He disappeared and reappeared at the Devil's Gate.

"Looks like he took the bait," the first demon smirked as he felt the lack of the angel's presence.

"How long until we know?"

"Not long at all."

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Dean screamed with all his might. Alistair was in a very foul mood today and that was never good for Dean. "So, what's wrong?" he asked. He didn't really care but thought maybe it might distract him from the pain and heat for a couple of seconds. Might even make Alistair forget what he was doing and not be his usual stellar torturer self.

"There's only two seals left and I'm being left out of the loop on this next one. Makes me a bit concerned," Alistair admitted.

"Only two left?" Dean asked, alarmed. It probably wouldn't affect his life any, but those poor people on earth. He wished he could stop it somehow.

Suddenly there was a glow of light and a man in a trench coat appeared in front of them. "Who are you?" Dean asked.

"Are you an angel? What are you doing down here?" Alistair asked, genuinely confused.

Instead of answering him, Castiel placed his palm on Alistair's forehead and obliterated him from existence. He yanked on Dean's bonds and said, "Come, we must leave this place."

"No argument here," Dean said. He didn't know if this guy was an angel or what he was, but anything was better than this rack. Castiel grabbed him and pulled him up with him, and flew him all the way to the gates of Heaven.

"Castiel, what have you done?" Zachariah demanded angrily.

"I've kept seal 665 from being broken," Castiel said triumphantly. He knew that once Zachariah knew what was going on he wouldn't be mad anymore.

"What exactly did you think seal 665 was?" Zach asked, crossing his arms.

Castiel sensed that something wasn't right. "It was turning the first seal breaker into a demon."

"We got the indication a seal was broken the moment you entered Hell. I think that was the seal. You've been duped." Zachariah had never been so angry. Castiel didn't have the authority to go off on his own like that. And he had now broken the penultimate seal. There was only one left. "Out of my sight, both of you," he said and hurled Castiel and Dean down to earth.

"Oops," Castiel said.

"Maybe we can stop the last seal," Dean suggested. "What is it?"

"No idea," Castiel said. Then he said, "My power seems to be out."

"Your power?"

"My angel powers. I think Zachariah took some of them away as punishment for breaking the seal."

"Bummer," Dean said.


	8. The Final Seal

Sarah walked up to Sam. She was getting sick of this game. It had been 40 years after all. She was thinking of getting a sledge hammer and smashing him into a million pieces. The screams in his head would be so delicious to listen to. He would feel it, but the beauty of the plan is he wouldn't die. Not until she made him flesh again. Sarah laughed as she went in search of the tool.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"It's time to get Sam so he can break the final seal," Lillith said. She and her two demon companions zapped over to Sam.

"Can you break the spell?" one of them asked.

"Of course."

Sam could hear the conversation and was elated. He didn't know who these people were but they were going to save him. Sarah walked into the room.

"Who are you?" she asked. She knew they were demons, but didn't know what they wanted.

"My name is Lillith. I'm in charge of breaking the 666 seals to free Lucifer.

"I've heard about that. How's it going?" Sarah asked. She was anxious to serve her master in purpose.

"We only have one left. You can actually assist us with it," Lillith said.

"I can?" Sarah could barely contain her excitement. If she helped free Lucifer she would gain a favored spot with him in front of all other witches.

"Yes, will you?" Lillith asked.

"What would I do?" Sarah asked.

"We can't tell you that. You need to just agree now."

"OK," Sarah gushed. She would do whatever it took to get into Lucifer's good graces.

Lillith smiled and nodded at the two demons. They placed their hands on Sarah and disappeared. Lillith walked up to Sam, placed her hands on him, and they disappeared as well.

They all reappeared in the deserted convent where the final seal must be broken. "We break it tonight," Lillith announced ominously.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"How can we stop the final seal from breaking?" Dean asked Castiel.

"I don't know. I don't know what it is even," he admitted.

"Do you know who's been breaking them?" Dean asked.

"A very powerful demon named Lillith."

"Great, then all we have to do is find her," Dean announced.

"She's cloaked to angels," Castiel explained. "We've been looking for her."

"I know this ritual where we can find a demon by name," Dean said remembering the ritual he and Bobby had performed to find Ruby.

"Let's do it," Castiel agreed readily. He had to make up for the monumental mistake he had made.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"Sarah, why don't you change him into flesh and leave us alone for a while," Lillith instructed.

"Flesh," Sarah said and the other two demons led her out. They were to keep an eye on her and make sure she didn't try to leave.

"Who are you?" Sam asked Lillith once the others were gone.

"My name is Lillith. I want to help you kill Sarah."

"If I kill her I'll be a statue forever," Sam protested.

"I'm a demon, Sam. You don't think I can break a little witch's spell."

"You had her turn me to flesh just now, didn't do it yourself," Sam pointed out.

"That's because I don't want her knowing I can break it."

Sam sighed. "Can't you just break it without us killing her?" Sam asked. He wanted to kill Sarah, more than just about anything, but something in the back of his mind told him it was wrong to kill.

"What would be in it for me?" Lillith asked.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Sam, demons don't go around handing out freebies. I'll break your spell in return for you sacrificing Sarah with me tonight."

"I still don't see what's in it for you. Can't you just kill her yourself?" Sam asked. Something was fishy, but he wasn't sure what.

"Enough with the questions. You have two choices. You can sacrifice Sarah with me tonight, or you can remain a statue for eternity. Eternity, Sam. You won't even get these little breaks every ten years. I'll bury you and you'll be surrounded by dirt and insects and the cold and you won't ever even hear another person. Do you understand."

Sam knew he had been beaten. "Fine. I'll do it."

"Excellent," Lillith said. The final seal was for the first demon and the last demonic psychic standing to sacrifice a witch at the stroke of midnight on Halloween above the Lucifer Gate. She checked her watch. Half an hour until show time.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"She's in a convent?" Castiel asked unbelievingly. In his experience, demons just didn't hang out at convents.

"A deserted convent, but yeah," Dean answered.

"Fine," Castiel said and zapped him and Dean outside of the convent.'

"I thought you said your angel power was out?"

"I said some of them were. I won't be able to heal you if you are injured," Castiel said. There was other stuff he couldn't do, but they had important matters to take care of.

They started to scope the place out, in order to find the best point of entry.


	9. Chapter 9

The demons brought Sarah back into the chapel. "Lie down, Sarah," Lillith instructed.

Sarah was only too happy to oblige. She wondered if Lucifer would come up and mate with her. To be the Anti-Christ's mother would make her queen of the demons. She felt a smile creep to her lips. It quickly left her face when she saw Lillith and Sam approaching her with shiny knives. "What are you doing?" she asked. She tried to get up, but one of the other demons flung out his hands and she found herself pinned to the floor.

"We're going to sacrifice you in exactly two minutes," Lillith answered matter-of-factly.

"No, you're not." Everyone turned to the sound at the door.

"Dean?" Sam said, confused. Dean was supposed to have died forty years ago and even if he hadn't, he should be a lot older now, close to 70.

"Sam?" Dean asked. He was basically having the same thoughts. And what was his brother doing breaking a seal with a demon?

Lillith flung out her hand towards Dean to irradiate him with her demon light, but Sam jumped in front of her. He expected to feel heat, or pain, or something, but there was nothing.

"Lucky for you, you're immune," Lillith told him. The clock began to strike midnight. "Now, quickly," she said to Sam.

"Sam, don't. She's trying to break the last seal to free Lucifer and start the Apocalypse," Dean said.

Sam threw down the knife. He didn't know what was going on, but he couldn't disappoint his brother or bring evil into the world. The clock finished chiming. "It's too late, now we'll have to wait until next year," Lillith lamented.

"You'll also have to do it without my brother," Dean informed her and walked towards Sam intent on dragging him out of there.

"Statue," Lillith said and Sam froze into a statue. "Bye, boys," and with that she disappeared. She would always be able to find Sam, and witches to sacrifice were a dime a dozen. They had waited this long, another year wouldn't hurt anything.

"What's going on?" Dean asked.

"Your brother is a statue," Castiel stated the obvious.

"Thanks. Can you fix it?" Dean asked.

"Not in my present state."

The other demons had left with Lillith and Sarah found she was able to sit up. This was the first time Dean had gotten a good look at her. "Sarah?"

"That's right, Dean. I so was not amused by you leaving me in that painting."

"Sorry about that," Dean said, not really meaning it. "Can you fix Sam?"

"I can, but why should I?"

"We'll all help you go after Lillith. You seem to be big on revenge. Sam never did anything to you and Lillith was going to sacrifice you," Dean pointed out.

"OK," Sarah agreed. "Flesh."

Nothing happened. "Flesh," she said again. Again nothing happened. "She must have overridden my spell with a spell of her own," Sarah said.

"What do we do?" Dean asked Cas.

"She'll be back. We wait."

"For how long?"

"A year," Cas said. He had been able to read her mind and knew what the final seal was and when it needed to be performed.

"Castiel, I did not send you down here to try to make more trouble regarding the last seal," Zachariah said as he appeared out of thin air.

"Sorry, but I was trying to make it right."

Zachariah touched Sam and he became flesh once again. "The spell is totally gone," Zachariah said.

Sarah took the opportunity to sneak away. She had a feeling nothing good would happen to her there.

"Thank you," Sam said.

"No need to thank me. I'm going to kill you now."

"What?" Dean asked.

"You broke the first seal, Castiel broke the second-to-last seal and the last seal needs to be broken by Lillith and Sam together. I'm going to kill Sam and make sure the seal is never broken."

"Can't you just kill Lillith?" Dean asked.

"I don't know where Lillith is. Sam's right here," Zachariah pointed out logically.

"It's OK, Dean," Sam said. After the last forty years he was ready to die.

"No, it's not," Castiel decided. He had only known Dean for a few hours, but in that time, he had come to care about him. He had never felt anything for a human before and he was pretty sure that this occurrence was due to his loss of powers. He was almost grateful for that in that he loved having feelings.

"Are you going to defy me?" Zachariah asked. He couldn't believe it. Nobody defied him. Nobody. He prepared to attack Castiel, when suddenly he was whisked back to Heaven.

"Where did he go?" Dean asked.

"Heaven," Castiel answered. "God didn't want him to kill me."

"Cool," Sam said.

"I also have my powers back. Do that thing where you find Lillith and I'll kill her."

"OK," Dean said.

Sam didn't hear the rest. He walked outside and looked at the stars. He then started running down the street. He didn't think he would ever feel this happy again.

"Sam," he heard Dean calling him. He thought about not going back. It was nice to have a choice in what to do for a change. But, he had missed his brother terribly and realized he wanted to go back.

"Where did your friend go?" he asked.

"To kill Lillith."

Just then Castiel reappeared. "It's done," he said. "Lillith is dead and the final seal can never be broken. Dean, thank you for helping me stop it."

"Thank you for pulling me from Hell," Dean responded.

"You were in Hell?" Sam asked. He had always kind of thought of that as a one-way trip.

"Yeah, and you were a statue." Dean realized they were both going to have a lot of issues, but together they would work through them.

Castiel took one last look at his new friends before heading back to Heaven to get his new assignment. He had a feeling he would see these two again soon.

The End


End file.
